Welcome to The Straight Woods, your window to manufacturing solutions and technologies in the wood products industry.
This edition features trendspotting, which helps manufacturers remain competitive by being proactive rather than reactive in their businesses.
Enjoy reading!
Roland Baumeister, Manager
Solutions for Wood |
David Fell
Market Researcher of Wood Products
David Fell is an industry advisor and FPInnovations-FPInnovations market researcher who investigates and reports on wood product market trends and opportunities.
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| British Columbia: |
The Western Hardwood Association’s
53rd Annual Meeting
July 11-15, 2008
Fairmont Chateau, Whistler, BC
The Western Hardwood Association (WHA) is the only association that has been dedicated for over 50 years exclusively to the development of a sustainable hardwood forest industry in the West of North America. BC's Business Innovation Partnership is working with WHA to get the word out and invite Western Canadian hardwood manufacturers to its 53rd annual meeting in Whistler, BC.
See website for more details
and register online |
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David tells us how Aya Kitchens and Baths became a trendsetter in the kitchen cabinet sector
Ideally, a company not only spots and applies trends but stays ahead of the curve by setting a trend. AyA Kitchens and Baths is a great example of a company that believed in the concept of sustainability and successfully seized the marketing opportunity even before green products became a trend.
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Trendspotting is a key tool for wood product manufacturers. Trendspotting helps manufacturers remain competitive by being proactive rather than reactive in their businesses. Every year, a multidisciplinary team at FPInnovations – FPInnovations consisting of marketing, product development, design, and industry specialists identifies trends for specific sectors and compiles them into trend reports. This year, the trend spotters focused on trends in the window, door, kitchen cabinet, and outdoor project segments. They researched trends such as demographics, new materials, sustainability, or alternative species etc., for current and future opportunities and threats. While some of the current trends appear to be ongoing, others are utterly new and present new possibilities for Canadian manufacturers.
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Achieving Gold : Best Practices for Successful Product Development
by Barbara Bell, Woodworking Canada,
Mar / Apr 2008
www.woodworkingcanada.com
Dynamic markets and competitive pressures are forcing wood product manufacturers to move to higher-value markets that require highly innovative products. The pros at Solutions for Wood talked to Guy Belletête, general manager of The Institute for Product Development (IDP) in Montreal, a company who has specialized in product development and design issues for more than 25 years.before you start developing a new product.
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Going Lean : A custom millwork business increases production capacity by implementing Lean practices
by Gilbert Steinke, Woodworking Canada,
Jan / Feb 2008
www.woodworkingcanada.com
Many manufacturers think that solving a specific problem requires a single-point answer. In truth, a system-wide approach to finding a solution is often the best way to increase overall productivity and efficiency.
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